Home Cooking

Why so glum, sugar plum?

AS Nigel Slater points out the fact that this crumble is easy and quick to make is no barometer as to its quality or provenance. This one is plum, and even made with fruit that was not quite ripe it turned out pretty well. Rhubarb is coming soon, once it forces its way through the frozen sheds of Yorkshire. Or try apple. Stick to your guns without being tempted to overdo the mish mash of seasoning. Simple is good. It takes about five minutes to prepare and 35 – 40 minutes to bake. It is cooked when the butter has seeped down to the bottom of the dish and pushed back up through the sugar and fruit. The top should be brown, even scorched in places, oozing, volcanic like. Serve with cream, custard or ice-cream. Delicious hot or cold.

PLUM CRUMBLE

Line a Pyrex baking dish with the plums, cut in half and stones taken out. Don’t crush it in, but just cover the base. Dust with a little caster sugar, depending how sweet your tooth is, you don’t need to overdo it.

Soften 100g of unsalted butter so it is malleable and work it with 150g plain flour using the tips of your fingers to make a crumble. Add in another 75g of sugar – half demerara, half caster for contrast. You can use a processor but you miss the mess and enjoyment.

Cover the fruit well and pop in a medium oven for 35 minutes or a bit longer depending on your oven.

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